The Leeds International Piano Competition launches a bold new chapter with the appointment of one of the world’s most esteemed artists, British pianist Sir Stephen Hough, as Artistic Director and Chair of the Jury for 2027 […]
Dr Aaron McGregor (Photo: Campbell Parker) Advertisements for Handel’s performances in Dublin in 1741 and 1742 (when he premiered Messiah) give the name of his organist as “Mr M’Lean” or “Mr Maclaine” and that is all […]
The 2026 Windsor Festival International String Competition (WFISC) is the 10th anniversary competition and for this WFISC is upping its game and introducing a concerto final. The competition runs from 27 September to 2 October 2026 […]
Music by François Couperin today, a perfect complement to a previous post on the harpsichord music of Louis Couperin at Wigmore Hall by Jean Rondeau (linked in to his monumental box of Louis’ keyboard works […]
You think you know Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin? Wait until you hear this! John Wilson and Sinfonia of London illuminate every bar of the score afresh. In a score I’ve heard a kazillion times, […]
The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester is celebrating its 30th birthday! The opening concert was on 11 September 1996 and the hall has just announced a celebratory 2026/27 season. Manchester’s historic concert […]
Back in the late 1990s one of the origins for ideas for new musical works was the moment during mass when I tuned the homily out and my mind went into a sort of free […]
Verdi: La traviata – Christian Joel, Isobel Hughes, Ted Day – St Paul’s Opera (Photo: Julian Guidera) Verdi: La traviata; Lizzie Ryder, Christian Joel, Owain Gwynfryn, director: Edwina Strobl, music director: Adrian Salinero, St Paul’s […]
Jury honours the finalists with one Second Prize and two Third Prizes, reaffirming the exceptionally high artistic standards of the international conducting competition Press Release: July 2026 ● The jury of The Mahler Competition 2026 […]
Verdi’s Macbeth masterfully compresses Shakespeare’s play into a compelling four Act opera that fulfils all the expectations of a mid-19th century musical melodrama while also adding the theme of a people liberated from oppression, addressing […]
.jpg?w=160&resize=160,160&ssl=1 "By turns ravishing & spine-tingling: period instrument orchestra Les Siècles is the star of the show in Berlioz's La damnation de Faust at the BBC Proms conducted by Jakob Lehmann")
